PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) — A Louisiana man being chased by police jumped from a coastal high-rise bridge in Mississippi and plunged to his death, authorities said.
The man died from injuries suffered Friday evening in Pascagoula, Mississippi, when he struck the ground beneath the bridge instead of the water, Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd Jr. told The Sun Herald. He identified the man as 50-year-old James Thomas Edwards of Morgan City, Louisiana.
Pascagoula Police Chief Matt Chapman confirmed that Edwards was being chased by police before he jumped. But it was unclear what prompted the pursuit.
Jackson County sheriff’s deputies had been pursuing Edwards on a highway outside Pascagoula but backed off when he reached the city limits, Chapman said. He said Edwards continued to speed through the city until a tire on his vehicle blew out on the bridge.
The police chief the man jumped off the bridge before responding officers could stop him. The death is being investigated.
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